August Wrap-up

Hi Everyone, it feels like yesterday that I was writing my July wrap-up, where has this month gone?! And the worst thing is, my summer holidays are almost over and I’ll be having to go back to school again – oh no! 😦 But, it’s been a busy month for me. I’ve been away on holiday and thoroughly enjoyed a seven night’s break away at a gorgeous Cottage near Scarborough, which had a beautiful swimming pool and multiple acres of private land to explore. I loved every minute! I’ve also read a lot of books, this month – a grand total of four books (which might not seem many to some people, aha, but it’s more than usual for me), so it’s been quite successful. I also got my results back from my exams, if you remember me saying, I took earlier this summer, and you’ll be happy to hear that I passed them all (yey!!!) Anyway, enough of that personal news, lets get on with the wrap-up:

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 After You by Jojo Moyes

Reviewed Here

This book is the sequel to Jojo Moyes bestselling Me Before You and although I was very excited about it, I was also cautious because I was happy with the way the original book ended. But it was a nice surprise, because I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel! I enjoyed seeing what Louisa was up to after the events of Me Before You, but in a way, I also thought it contradicted the meaning of the last book: to just live, and to live an exciting life, because now Louisa works in an airport bar and is back living a sheltered life again. However, I awarded it a four-star rating because I really enjoyed the book, and there was just as much humour and everything, as there was in the first book.

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 The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish

Reviewed Here

This book is an excellent, very summery thriller which I read in just a couple of days towards the beginning of the month. It is about the reopening of a local swimming pool in the town that the main character of this book lives, who has an aquaphobic daughter, and befriends a very stylish family – the new celebrities of the town. It was a really well-paced, compelling book and I loved the characters – and the stage of the plot, which was obviously the swimming pool. It was a really clever book and I actually didn’t want to finish it in the end! I gave it a very high star rating of five stars out of five, because it was such an enjoyable read, and also I’m surprised it hasn’t had more recognition, to be honest.

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Never Saw It Coming by Linwood Barclay

Reviewed Here

As I mentioned in my review, I hadn’t planned on reading this book, I picked it up spontaneously (there’s actually quite a funny story behind it, if you read my review!) but I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, it was a good book, and better than I thought it would be – but certainly not up there with the bestsellers like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, etc, because I could see quite a few faults, however, it was entertaining, and there was a good plot behind it. However, the characters weren’t really developed as well as they should have been and the narrative wasn’t that good, to be honest. But I gave it three stars out of five, which I thought was a very fair judgement.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Reviewed Here

I was cautious about picking this book up, because I didn’t really think a sequel to the original series was needed. The play was actually quite good, even though the fact that Harry didn’t seem his old self (he seemed much more moody, impatient and irritable, etc) spoilt it a little for me. But the idea about the time-turner and bringing back the subject of Cedric Diggory’s death was all quite clever, and I enjoyed it. But there was several flaws, which was why I only gave it four stars out of five. But it’s definitely something I was certainly recommend to fans of Harry Potter.

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Currently Reading:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban

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Other News:

Guess what? I’ve reached 400 followers! I really didn’t see this coming, and I’m absolutely thrilled to think that there are so many of you out there that read my posts and stuff! Debating whether to do a post like some bloggers do when they reach a similar sort of milestone. Anyway, just a big thank you from me to all you out there that are following Poppy’s Best of Books – you are really appreciated!

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 August’s Posts:

• August 1st: July Wrap-up
• August 6th: Discussion| Judging Books Before You Read Them
• August 8th: After You by Jojo Moyes: Was there any Need For a Sequel?
• August 13th: Dripping in Drama: The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish
• August 22nd: The Entertainer Blogger Award
• August 23rd: Never Saw it Coming by Lindwood Barclay: a little too predictable
• August 27th: New Dark Secrets Surfacing in: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

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How Has Your August Been?

• Have you been anywhere nice on holiday, etc?
• Have you read many books this month?
• Have you done anything else exciting this month?

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Thank you for reading my Wrap-up!